Department of Pediatrics and Human DevelopmentCollege of Human Medicine

Department of Pediatricsand Human Development

College of Human Medicine

Didactic & Unique Curricula

Our Systems-Based Practice Curriculum incorporates the tenets of the systems-based practice core competency, including: work within various health care settings; patient care coordination, cost awareness, and advocacy; the enhancement of patient safety and quality care; and the identification and treatment of system errors. This is accomplished through: didactic lectures; participation in an advocacy project; QI projects; attendance at committee meetings; and a 1-month rotation in the resident’s 2nd year, during which they will spend time learning about appropriate use of and communication with several ancillary service areas.

Most required conferences are clustered into a single weekly “Teaching Morning,” each Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. These include some very unique teaching series!

Journal Club/Critical Analysis of the Medical LiteratureResidents engage in discussion of a recent significant article. Principles of evidence-based medicine and critical appraisal of the medical literature are reviewed. Faculty will supervise the selection of articles, and guide the scientific discussion.

Subspecialty CasesResidents, under the direct guidance of attending, present interesting floor cases, PICU cases and NICU cases on a rotating basis. Residents and attending engage in discussion of up to date pediatrics as it relates to each case. These cases also allow for review and reflection of diagnosis and management for quality improvement and patient safety.

Morbidity and Mortality ConferenceResidents, Fellows or Attendings present all deaths and important cases of morbidity, including health care quality or patient safety issues, to facilitate identification of systems improvement opportunities and to address issues leading to medical error.

Core Curriculum ConferenceThursdays 10:40 AM – 1:00 PM (weekly)This series includes didactic sessions and group educational formats. It covers fundamental clinical, scientific and board specific topics based on the American Board of Pediatric Content Specifications, as well as special topics addressing the Core Competency curriculum.

Interesting Outpatient CaseResidents, under the direct guidance of attending, present an interesting or learning outpatient case either from continuity clinic or sub-specialty clinics. The focus of the presentation or discussion is on diagnosis and management.

Pediatrics in Review JeopardyResidents create Jeopardy questions based on 1-3 Pediatrics in Review articles as part of board preparation.

Morning ReportEvery Tuesday and Friday 7:30 – 8:00 a.m. Each intern presents a case admitted the night before with a specific goal and objective for the discussion led by an attending physician.

Integrated Basic Science LectureOne Thursday six times per year and integrated into the core curriculum conference. Six lectures per year with a focus on the basic sciences. Examples include metabolic disorders, and growth problems.

Research CurriculumEight online modules plus 4 group discussions per year. Online modules cover the basics of research which are required for completion during the research rotation. Group sessions are designed to facilitate resident research projects in a group setting.

Mock Code Simulation CurriculumOnce a month on Thursdays. This includes simulation, lead by pediatric intensivists, of deteriorating patients with different conditions, codes, and procedures.

Nightshift CurriculumOne on-line module per week while on the floor rotation. On-line modules (developed nationally) followed by review questions pertaining to issues and medical knowledge specific to night shift.

Radiology RoundsReview interesting or confounding cases with imaging with our pediatric radiologist once a week while on inpatient services.

Research Project

Over the three years, residents are required to do a research project of their choice and present during Grand Rounds in the third year of residency. This can be a clinical research, chart reviews, or a published project. Many residents have gone on to publish or present their projects nationaly at the Pediatric Academic Society's annual meeting.

Child Advocacy Curriculum

Advocacy and community pediatrics have been a focus at our program for a decade or more. Our advocacy curriculum is a longitudinal curriculum over three years of residency and includes didactics, workshops and completing an advocacy project with presentation at the end of third year. Didactic experiences occur during the scheduled resident teaching block and include introduction to advocacy and community pediatrics, the medical home concept as well as other systems of care. Experiential components are primarily integrated into other rotations, namely the general pediatrics rotation and the developmental/behavioral pediatrics rotation. These experiences include home visits with maternal-infant health nurses, school visits, participation in evaluations of children with special needs and participating in a child abuse evaluation. The primary workshop experience over the past few years has been the legislative advocacy experience. Taking advantage of our proximity to the Capitol and to the MIAAP chapter, we have instituted a two-day experience that gives residents practice researching and developing a position paper, creating a fact sheet for legislators, and calling and meeting with legislators and their staffers.